


Lorca's Maru

by greglet



Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Academy Era, Kobayashi Maru
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-28
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-25 18:52:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 918
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12538824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greglet/pseuds/greglet
Summary: Gabriel Lorca undertakes the Kobayashi Maru exam at the academy. He is all too aware of the peeking eyes of the examiners he must impress, but all the while, knows within himself how he would otherwise act in the heat of the moment.





	Lorca's Maru

Gabriel took the Captain’s chair with an assumed fluency; it was always going to be his one day. His fingers tightened around the curve of the arm and a subtle smirk came to his lips as the lights of the bridge started to rise. The crew addressed him as Captain as they found their seats and it riled something within him he didn’t want to give away - he was being examined for streaks of humble Starfleet gold; not for the special kind of character that would spill blood in it’s name. That came later. Stars shone in the view screen against the dense black of space and as a student in the communication officer’s chair fed him the starting line, Gabriel’s rehearsed Kobayashi Maru strategy began.

“Phaser fire aimed at the Klingon battlecruisers to draw them away from the ‘Maru,” Gabriel relayed his orders to the ensigns around him, “Ready me four photons, wait for my command to fire,” Gabriel ordered and then flicked a switch on his control panel, opening a comm to the shuttle bay “I want three shuttles prepped and ready for a drop off and a mission to pick up - stand by.”

Catching the eye of the officer with the weapons controls, Gabriel set out a new order.

“Ensign, as soon as phasers fire I want you over the neutral zone and fly us straight towards the ‘Maru - I’ll tell you what’s next when we get there, got it?”

“We’re firing from Federation space… into the neutral zone?” The cadet asked but was ignored by Gabriel who was above him and this play.

“Shields, red alert,” Gabriel added to tick that box on the examiner's list, “Everyone, stand by; it’ll be quick-”

The raised eyebrows from the cadet in the pilot’s chair was what Gabriel had been expecting in reaction to his strategy. His strategy, after all, was something that sounded a little like a suicide mission that Gabriel had left with enough of a smokescreen not to entice unnecessary questions. Leaning forward in the chair, the theoretical path had already divided into two; the lane that Gabriel would take today to show the examiners he was capable of confident risk taking in the face of certain failure, and the other that played out only in his mind - the lane he would really take had this been real.

_‘Pause at the border, ready four photons aimed at the ‘Maru - dead centre,’_

_Gabriel would pause, assessing the opposing ships,_

_‘Wait, the cruisers need to be closer, fire overhead, draw them in,’_

“Fire phasers - now, fire at will-”

The simulation had the ship jump forward following the initial blast of phasers. The view screen gradually zoomed into the cruisers to simulate a decreasing distance while the cruisers - or the computers behind them - debated how to answer the charge. Just as Gabriel was starting to draw some looks and a confused ‘Captain-’, he ordered a fly by and invited a chase.

“Aim photons at the cruisers.” Gabriel ordered into the control panel and the simulation progressed. “One each, ensign, don’t be wasteful - watch the Maru, try not to scratch her.”

_“Drop the photons,”_

In temporarily disabling the cruisers Gabriel had spared enough time for his shuttles to arrive at the Maru while his ship acted as a barrier. The simulation reacted as Gabriel had predicted; the Klingons made a quick recovery and were coming back for a piece or two.

“Fire phasers - keep those shuttles safe-” It was at this part of the exercise Gabriel sparked his brave-face. It was too obvious how the play would finish; the cruisers would overpower the enterprise, one of them would take out the ‘Maru and the blast would destroy his shuttles. Still, as long as he looked to be considering his options amid the battle, pick lesser known maneuvers to avoid a collision or an early end, then leave the battlefield with most of his crew intact, he would do well enough to earn a distinction. Of course, the scenario he would truly commit to would end more favourably.

_The four photons met their target sending the ‘Maru and it’s eternally damned crew into the final night._  
_The blast takes out two of the battle cruisers, irreparably damages the third and stuns the fourth long enough for_  
_another photon torpedo to be readied. In the time it takes the Enterprise to reposition and aim at the last Cruiser,_  
_the Klingons aboard are scrambling for redundant revenge._

_Before Gabriel would be called in front of any panel for judgement,_  
_as he knew he would be, his reasons and motives rang clear. Killing the crew_  
_of the ‘Maru was a mercy. Blasting them like that killed them quick before they would even know what_  
_happened, and took out any chance of a full war with the Klingons. A war couldn’t break out if there_  
_were no Klingons left to tell the others - or, if it did somehow break out, the Klingons were down_  
_four battle cruisers… this was a true win-win situation._

_But, in answer to the obvious question any panel would present to him;_  
_he wouldn’t dare send a civilian crew to their deaths amongst the Klingons._  
_A fate of unholy twists of torture that would only lead to the darkest grave as a show and_  
_threat to the rest of the Federation was something Gabriel would do everything in his power to avoid._  
_No civilian crew would be handed to the Klingons so easily._  
_No._  
_Not on Gabriel Lorca’s watch._

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, i love jim with all my being. he is a beautiful picture of the purest human character. His personality shines and his views are a reflection of a world we should aim for. 
> 
> however
> 
> lorca can get it. and i resonate with his budding character more than i care to admit even in this little box. also ive fancied jason isaacs for a long long time. #slytherdad
> 
> um..... yeah so i got to thinking about lorcas academy time and im p sure he'd be seen as that stand up guy. there would only be rumours about what else he would be capable of. and from that duality i wanted to think about his maru exam. and i came with this. it's short and not all that sweet, but i enjoyed writing it. 
> 
> now i just gotta wait like..... a little less than 2 days to see the new episode oh god hurry up 
> 
> lmk what yous think, leave some kudos and comments please!!!


End file.
